Cass Sunstein argues that President Obama and FDR share a committment to a basic foundation for prosperity, not to equalize outcomes but to ensure that the rich don't get a chauffeured trip across the finish line while everyone else struggles to locate the track.

Nancy Folbre writes that the American workforce is still starkly divided by race and gender, and over half of private sector workers would have to change jobs to achieve true integration. Only then can white men finally be free from the burdens of middle management.

Harold Meyerson argues that striking down the president's recess appointments is about the balance of power, not just between the White House and Congress but between the two parties -- specifically, that Republicans get to have power and Democrats don't.

Britain's Economy Is a Disaster and Nobody Is Entirely Sure Why (The Atlantic)

Matthew O'Brien notes that Britain is now worse off than it was at this point in the Great Depression, heading toward a triple-dip recession even though it's been adding a healthy number of jobs. Must be time for more austerity. Let's really beat this thing into shape.

Annie Lowrey flags a new report from Sigtarp that finds Treasury is still signing off on lavish compensation for execs at bailed out companies. But this year they totally didn't melt down and almost destroy the economy. Don't they deserve some kind of reward?

While the media has been showering Tim Geithner in accolades for a job sort of done, Dean Baker argues that he doesn't deserve too much credit for extending the unnatural life of Frankenfinance when he should have been focused on reviving the real economy.

Gretchen Morgenson writes that the first step Mary Jo White can take toward strengthening enforcement at the SEC is to stop the practice of settling cases without admissions of guilt, which is the financial sector equivalent of "I'm sorry if you're offended" apologies.

David Dayen looks at how California's progressive Democrats managed to create a functioning government out of a hopeless morass and balance the state's budget by eliminating the tools the Republican minority used to create a perpetual crisis. Cc: Harry Reid

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a libertarian utopia, or barring that, a converted public park in Detroit? Rick Perlstein highlights one developer's plan to turn Bell Isle into an all-you-can eat freedom buffet with a cover charge of just $300,000.